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PointCast founder in bid
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April 2, 1999: 5:17 p.m. ET
Former CEO preparing to take over Internet 'push' technology firm
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - PointCast Inc. founder and former Chief Executive Officer Chris Hassett told CNNfn Friday he's preparing a bid for the company with the backing of Wall Street firms and other financial sources.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company pioneered what's known as "push" technology, which automatically delivers news and information to Internet users.
At one time, push technology was regarded as the next big thing on the Internet, since it obviated the need for users to surf the Web to get the information they wanted. Its luster quickly faded, however, largely because users complained the system slowed down their computers' performance.
PointCast says it has about 1.1 million members, and about a third of them use the service daily.
Hassett said Yahoo! Inc.'s (YHOO) $5.7-billion acquisition of Broadcast.com Inc. (BCST) Thursday illustrates the value of a large membership base.
Hassett declined to specify the terms of the deal. The entrepreneur, now CEO of PrizePoint, a New York-based entertainment Web site, said PointCast turned down a $450 million offer from Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. (NWS) in 1997.
Last July, PointCast shelved a plan to take 20 percent of the company public.
The Hassett family still owns 15-20 percent of PointCast's common stock.
Thursday, PointCast said it was laying off 75 employees, about a third of its workforce. The company said a deal with several telecommunications companies to acquire PointCast fell through.
Hassett stepped down as CEO in 1997 and was replaced by former Pacific Bell executive David Dorman, who resigned the post earlier this year to lead the AT&T Corp. (T)-British Telecom (BTY) joint venture. 
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PointCast
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